1. Look for repetition, not just today’s urgent issue
A delayed case may be an isolated incident. Several cases stuck at the same point warrant closer observation. Gather recent examples and what you have already tried, without treating an impression as a diagnosis.
2. Follow the journey across teams
A problem visible in one department may begin earlier. Mapping steps, people and handovers helps identify where work waits or moves backwards. This observation complements interviews and avoids reducing the issue to one person.
3. Define the decision you need to prepare
Do you want to delegate approvals, change a handling process or prioritise initiatives? A specific decision gives the engagement focus. ‘Improve performance’ becomes useful when you explain which way of working should change and for whom.
4. Prepare the conditions for action
Identify a contact, people available for discussions and those authorised to approve decisions. Ask how findings will be discussed and actions reviewed. A report is insufficient if nobody has time or authority to act.
| What you observe | The question to ask | What to examine |
|---|---|---|
| Decisions wait for the owner | Who can decide, and within which limits? | Approval requests, roles and delegation rules |
| Cases move between teams | Where does continuity break down? | Owners, information passed on and waiting points |
| Projects multiply without progressing | Which priority can realistically move forward now? | Available capacity, dependencies and missing decisions |
When should you start with an internal adjustment?
If the problem is limited, its cause understood and an owner available, a team discussion may be enough to test an improvement. External support becomes useful when you lack perspective, capacity or a method for a cross-team issue; it is not necessary for every difficulty.
What should you check in a consulting proposal?
Check the scope, questions to answer, participants, deliverables, schedule and budget. Distinguish the diagnostic from implementation support and ask how findings will be validated. Agree which documents to share, access and confidentiality arrangements.
Prepare your first discussion with AIBS
- Your business and the teams involved.
- Two or three recent examples of the problem.
- Actions already tried and what they changed.
- Available working documents and indicators.
- A decision to prepare, a contact and your availability constraints.
Key takeaways
Start with a difficulty described through facts and a decision to prepare. A useful diagnostic connects findings to feasible actions, with owners and a way to review their effects.